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Business Start-up Support Service for Disabled People Seeks Votes

The DEBSS Project, which is part of the SAMEE Charity, run by IEP Fellow Samantha Everard FIEP, has been selected as one of the 5 chosen charities in the 2018 People’s Project for the Meridian West area.

The Disabled Entrepreneurs Business Start-up Service (DEBSS) is a specialist pilot project specifically aimed at providing tailored business start-up support for disabled clients. As part of The Samee Charity, the DEBSS pilot will bring focus to this vital area of provision through specialist workshops and mentoring support to help build disabled peoples’ confidence to either start a small business or develop their employability skills. It will also improve disabled peoples’ chances of finding suitable and sustainable employment.

In March 2017, clients with a range of disabilities were invited to attend a consultation at The Samee Centre to explore how The Samee Project could assist disabled clients more effectively on their journey to self-employment.

The main areas of business start-up support identified at the consultation were:

Advocacy & Mentoring

Exploring additional funding options

Networking & Marketing

Service Directory of Disability Friendly Suppliers

Establishment of DEBSS specific grant

In addition to their consultation, further research found that existing business start-up organisations in Dorset do not offer any kind of specialist support for disabled entrepreneurs. The DEBSS pilot will incorporate tailored intensive support allowing more time and resource to support each disabled client.

Samee’s ability to deliver the social impact and sustainability of the DEBSS pilot will be based around the success of disabled clients actively engaging with the service and clients will be engaged in developing employability skills with options like volunteering, for example, or being signposted to a suitable support organisations to address their specific needs.

Now in their 13th year, The People’s Projects are a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund, ITV, STV and The National Lottery to give the public a chance to decide how National Lottery funding should be put to good use in their local area.

If you are an employer organisation that provides employment related services, IEP can raise your performance through qualifications and training. It supports the continued professional development needs of your management teams and frontline staff.